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LynuxWorks expands into embedded software for medical devices

29 April 2008

LynuxWorks, Inc., developer of mission-critical embedded software for
aerospace and military systems, has announced plans to expand its
efforts in the medical technology market.

Its new initiative will target medical device manufacturers, and
includes broadening its ecosystem to help support these devices, and
working with existing customers that use LynuxWorks’ embedded real-time
operating systems.

Aside from already working with medical companies, LynuxWorks’ core
embedded operating system/hypervisor technology has been powering
security- and safety-critical systems for the military, aerospace and
avionics markets, who have similar needs for high reliability and
certifiable software products.

“The demand for sophisticated medical systems, from blood analysers
to patient monitoring to robotic surgery equipment, is driving software
content and growth in the medical device market,” said Steve Balacco,
Director for the Embedded Software Practice at Venture Development
Corporation.

“Due to the safety-critical nature of medical applications, this
market is heavily regulated by government bodies, and therefore requires
extensive documentation in all phases of development, testing, and
manufacturing. LynuxWorks has positioned their commercial software
offerings and leveraged its experience in safety applications to assist
medical device manufacturers in reducing time and costs spent on
regulatory compliance.”

LynuxWorks CEO and President Gurjot Singh said: “Our larger focus on
the medical market is a natural extension of the open, safe, reliable
and secure computing we’ve championed since the 1980s. Our ability to
meet the stringent certification policies of the Federal Aviation
Administration for avionics software also means that our products are
well positioned to fulfil the requirements placed by the Food and Drug
Administration for medical environments, as well as HIPAA privacy
requirements. Device manufacturers can rest assured that there is no
platform more tested than those provided by LynuxWorks.”

LynuxWorks’ products offer broad conformance to open and de facto
standards including Linux, POSIX and UNIX. LynxOS is the only embedded
RTOS with hard real-time performance, which means it absolutely,
positively must respond within a set period of time, a key consideration
for many life-critical medical devices. Similarly, the company’s BlueCat
embedded Linux, based on the 2.6 kernel, is an implementation of Linux
that has been enhanced for use in embedded systems ranging from small
devices to large-scale, multi-CPU systems.

Other products, such as the LynxSecure separation kernel and embedded
hypervisor, could facilitate the security and partitioning required in
integrated medical devices, and can also help with the re-use of legacy
medical applications on to new hardware platforms.

As part of a broader ecosystem to help support medical customers,
LynuxWorks has partnered with American Portwell Technology, which
provides both commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) and custom solutions for
applications in the medical equipment industry, among others. LynuxWorks
is also entering into a relationship with Mascon Global Limited who
provides solutions and services to the medical industry.

LynuxWorks already has established integral partnerships with leading
hardware companies including Intel Corp, Xilinx and Freescale, who have
solutions that meet the needs of both medical and the more traditional
embedded industry.

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